Often, enterprises serve as hosts to guests, for example, vendors, partners, clients, members, colleagues, and students for any of a variety of purposes. These guests may desire to access resource devices (such as print devices) on the host enterprise networks using their electronic devices, such as, for example, desktop computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, smartphones, and personal digital assistance (PDAs). However, the host network may prevent unauthorized access to a network resource. Moreover, even with access to the host network certain resource devices may prevent unauthorized access. Thus, host enterprises often provide guests temporary authorized access to network resource devices through the administrative service responsible for the resource device.
Providing guests access to network resource devices often requires the use of dedicated hardware and/or software, and the installment and the maintenance of the same, particularly because of network security features. These dedicated solutions are not simple, and often have requirements to ensure that those using publicly provided resource devices are those that have permission to do so. It is common for the solutions to require information technology (IT) support and/or the assistance of one or more administrators. For example, when a guest visits a new location with a Wi-Fi network and resource devices (e.g., printers), a common method of authentication is for an administrator to add the guest to the enterprise network containing the resource device and provide temporary access credentials. However, often times granting access to an enterprise network may not necessarily grant access to a resource device on that network. Alternatively, access to the enterprise network may not be required to be granted access to a resource device (for example, when services offered to the resource device can be made available through a public network).
The current disclosure discloses a system and method to automatically provide guest access credentials to a collection of resource devices based on proximity.